


when the bass drops

by baecobz



Series: in every universe [14]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, First Meetings, M/M, lots of bad music metaphors, underground rapper mark lee, yukhei is still an idol though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 12:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baecobz/pseuds/baecobz
Summary: even though he only debuted a few months ago, yukhei needs a break from the fans and the public opinions that have started to cling to his skin. it's during one of those brief reprieves that yukhei meets mark: underground rapper and certified heart-stealer.





	when the bass drops

ever since yukhei debuted under one of the nation’s top boy groups, his life had turned upside down.

it had changed a little when he became a trainee, even more when he was set to actually debut and start recording and practicing with the rest of the guys, but it wasn’t like he was  _ famous _ . he could still go to classes unbothered and buy late night snacks at the convenience store without a second glance, could still carry on like everything was normal.

but then their debut had happened, and with the rush of promotions and fan events and live stages, yukhei was forced to get used to finding solace in a cramped dorm room, confined to a set of walls with near literal bars, listening to crickets as lullabies during their few hours of rest.

but at the end of the day, yukhei figures that the change isn’t too bad; he thrives off of the growing attention and support, the crescendo of love that gets thrown his way both in person and online.

but beneath the watchful gaze of netizens and dispatch, yukhei likes to sneak out sometimes.

not often, but now that promotions are over and other groups are busy topping the charts, he gets a tiny quarter beat of rest to breathe away from the public eye.

he’s lucky that his management is so lowkey, trusting him not to do anything stupid that he could ruin his image, so he doesn’t get reprimanded  _ too _ badly after the nights where he slips out of the dorms and makes his way downtown.

he misses the nightlife sometimes, misses the feeling of bright lights on his skin without having to worry about a dozen eyes and cameras tracked onto his movements.

but above all else, he misses the underground scene, the thrumming of bass and the tempos cut and pasted together, the growl of unfamiliar voices and evolving beats. there was a cacophony of screaming and cheering that always stuck with him, a mess of a choir that somehow encouraged him to be an idol.

and he’s done it, finally, but he misses the motivation.

when he tugs his shoes on and pulls his cap far over his head, none of the members give him a second glance; taeyong pats him on the back, once, whispers  _ be careful, come home soon _ as he always does, and then yukhei is jogging outside and breathing in muggy air with open lungs.

since they’re in the city, he’s able to appreciate how close everything is, a thousand sixteenth notes barely fitting in between the buildings as he takes step after step towards his final destination.

he manages to make it to a small club downtown, a local bar with flickering lights and massive speakers that always felt comfortable for yukhei to be around. the previous performer walks behind a curtain, and the crowd settles as they wait for the next rapper to start. the stage can only barely be called as much; it’s a shabby symphony of wood and metal pipes, and although you can’t really tell as much at night, yukhei knows firsthand just how small it feels when you step on it for the first time.

a figure settles behind the mic on the stage, hands wrapping tight around the stand, and they’re practically  _ glowing  _ under the dim lights.

the entire audience is yelling, shouting out encouragements and gibberish as a single spotlight centers around the figure. yukhei can’t really figure out who the person is, unused to the bright light casting shadows around the boy’s face, but everyone screams louder at the sight of him.

yukhei figures if he’s so popular, surely he must be somewhat talented-- but he’s still not quite sure what to expect. it’s been awhile since he’d come by, after all, and he doesn’t know what recent music trends have come to play.

then the boy on stage starts rapping, and yukhei’s entire body feels like it’s been reanimated.

there’s a steady beat coursing through his veins, a melody starting to make its way against his heart as the boy keeps going, cutting words and bars through the speakers like he’s looking for blood.

yukhei doesn’t even register what the boy is saying, ignoring the lyrics in favor of pressing closer to the stage and embracing the dulling treble beside his skull. the old, familiar feeling of electricity comes crackling through him like an old friend’s surprising embrace, although yukhei can’t even appreciate it because the boy on stage is looking at him, lips still racing with their staccato movements and refrains.

yukhei’s pretty sure his mind just leaves his body at that point, because before he knows it, he’s watching as the boy shuffles off stage with a wave and the briefest of smiles, and yukhei’s left wondering why he couldn’t appreciate the performance more.

perhaps it’s because of that regret that yukhei finds himself pushing towards backstage, eyes wide as he searches amongst a sea of strangers. his gaze lands on a familiar face, though, and he’s being brought into a hug before he even realizes what’s going on.

when the memory hits him, he laughs over the music and wraps his arms around the manager of the club, grinning.

“hey, hyung!” yukhei pulls back to pat johnny on the back-- it’s been a long time since yukhei had seen the other (it had been, what, almost a year? it had definitely been before his debut was announced) but johnny still looks the same: tall, lean, and as bright as ever. “what’s up?”

“i haven’t seen you in so long. how’ve you been? you look great, man.” yukhei laughs in response, yelling garbled thanks as a few strangers squeeze past them. he forgot how crowded the bar always was, forgot how the incessant pressing of bodies and skin were always a repeated reminder that he was there, taking up space, and  _ alive _ . “what brings you here?”

“just wanted to visit.” yukhei grins, pleased at the way johnny seems to puff his chest out at that. “hey, the guy who just performed-- who was he?”

“i’ll introduce you.” johnny winks in typical johnny fashion, because that’s definitely  _ not _ what yukhei asked; he would’ve been grateful for a name to look up later, maybe, or even a signature or soundcloud link or something, but johnny’s always been the one to take things one step, one measure further.

yukhei follows on aimlessly as johnny slides through the crowd and leads yukhei backstage to a cozy room of couches and beer that feels a bit too much like home.

the boy from the stage earlier is there, typing on his phone and drinking what looks like orange juice. yukhei stares, blinks, then stares again. yeah, definitely orange juice.

the boy bows politely offers a small greeting to yukhei before he’s back on his phone. yukhei regrets everything he’s ever done in his life.

“yo, mark,” johnny puts a hand to yukhei’s back and pushes him closer, grin never wavering, “my friend wanted to meet you. play nice, okay? i’ll be right back.” he squeezes yukhei’s shoulder on the way out, pointedly ignoring the pinched expression on the chinese boy’s face.

he shifts in his spot, suddenly far too uncomfortable as the boy-- mark-- watches him quietly from his spot on the couch. yukhei’s not sure if he’s supposed to sit down beside him, or if that’d be too invasive, so he stays in his spot and waits. he gets the vague impression, somehow, that he’s supposed to let mark make the first move.

there’s a sixteenth rest, then an eighth, then a quarter, then a whole song of pure silence as yukhei squirms under mark’s eyes. he’s gotten used to the public eye, maybe, but more private moments like this are difficult to get used to.

“oh!” mark says finally, his voice a thousand times more soothing and calm than it had been when he had been rapping, “aren’t you, like, a youtuber? or a celebrity? or something?”

“no,” yukhei says firmly, and although the other boy looks like he wants to argue, he just shrugs, as if to say  _ alright, whatever you say _ .

“anyways, what’s up?”

“just wanted to say hi.” yukhei says meekly. his voice sounds muted to his own ears, muffled and self-conscious in a way he’d been trained to avoid. he clears his throat, takes a breath, and manages, “i saw your performance just now. you were really impressive.”

“oh, thanks man!” mark smiles, and the sight of that alone is enough to make a million flutes start screeching in yukhei’s chest, out of tune and deafening in its extremities. “wait, crap, aren’t you-- you’re an idol, right? oh my god, i’m so sorry, uh,” mark stands up, bowing yet again and extending a hand. “i saw you on tv the other day.”

“wow, i get special treatment because you recognized me?” it’s meant as a joke, but as he lets go of his hand, mark shakes his head quickly, blushing. it’s a good look on him.

“no, sorry, it’s just-- this is so awkward, ugh, but you’re  _ famous _ . johnny brings in weird guys to meet me, sometimes, so i don’t really know what to expect, but-- wow.  _ wow _ .”

yukhei scratches the back of his neck and ignores the steady beating of his heart against the background, the way it grows louder and louder when mark meets his eyes.

“i’m not famous,” he says eventually, “not that many people know about me.”

“not yet, maybe, but i’m sure you’re gonna be, like, the nation’s favorite son in a few years, give or take.”

“you flatter me too much.” yukhei knows he’s supposed to be somewhat humble when it comes to tv appearances and variety shows, but he figures if the hosts are anything like mark, he’d have no trouble denying their extreme praise with an awkward hand and a laugh. he’s having a bit of trouble with the laugh now, though, when mark is staring at him with sparkling eyes and everything yukhei could ever say is caught in his throat, an abrupt halt to the duet they had been starting to tentatively compose.

“are idols even allowed outside? aren’t you alone, too? that’s not safe, what if some creepy fan recognized you-- do you want me to walk you back to your dorms? where do you live? wait, i’m not asking because i’m a creepy fan, i promise, but-- ugh, wait--”

“mark.” yukhei starts quietly, and the younger boy shuts his mouth immediately. the expectant look he gives is probably enough to inspire a thousand ballads, or maybe yukhei’s already biased. “it’s fine, but my members would probably freak out if they thought i was bringing someone home. mark-- stop laughing, mark-- could i get your number, though? you seem cool, i guess.”

“you guess?” mark raises an eyebrow, but he reaches for yukhei’s phone anyways. yukhei’s heart is still racing with a hundred bands marching at the ready, all while mark taps away in obliviousness. “text me when you get back, so i know you got home safe.”

“sure.” yukhei glances at the  _ talented rapper mark~ _ in his contacts and smiles. “i’ll talk to you later.”

“later.” mark repeats.

yukhei nods and makes his way out the back door. he’s only out there for maybe a half beat before he’s poking his head back in, grinning.

“later.”

“later.” mark says again, and he’s grinning too.

the walk back to the dorm is somehow shorter than the walk from it, but it’s probably because yukhei spent the entire time thinking about mark, the power he had on stage as a conductor to the masses, the politeness he held even when he had no idea who yukhei was, and just everything about him.

when he toes his shoes off inside the dorms, he doesn’t even make it to his room before he’s sending out a quick text and one of his favorite memes to the new number in his phone.

“good night?” taeyong rubs his eyes from his bedroom door, gentle and welcoming despite the late hour.

“definitely.” yukhei giggles despite himself, giddy when he feels his phone vibrate in response. “great night, even.”

“that’s good to hear.” taeyong trudges back to his room, footsteps muffled with his slippers and the chorus of whispers as the members carry hushed conversations in their own rooms. yukhei thinks he can hear taeyong talking to someone (doyoung, probably) about groceries.

perhaps it’s not as exciting as what yukhei gets to dream about, but he figures that nothing in the world could ever be better than the cute rapper with the glowing smile.

**Author's Note:**

> this was so hard to write and i feel like u can tell so i am. so sorry fjdsk but anyways!! i hope u liked this regardless!!  
> fun facts abt this universe:  
> -the members are all there except for dreamies and johnny!! theyre just kids living normal good lives  
> -johnny runs a bar bc hes Cool and does whatever he wants  
> -ten has a unit and hes rlly popular!! thats not rlly important for the au but its important for my heart so. yeah  
> -theyre not under sm!! theyre under an imaginary company that treats their idols really well and takes care of them uwu  
> -if u cldnt tell, yukhei used to be an underground rapper before he got scouted  
> -taeyongs still the leader of the group and hes wonderful!!  
> -yukhei and ten talk to e/o in eng sometimes and jaehyun can only understand like 1/3 of it,, everyone else is completely lost
> 
> anyways fsjkldjs thank u again for reading!!! if yall wanna leave kudos/bookmarks/comments, that wld mean the world to me ahh <333 lmk what u did/didnt like abt this!!! i wanna imporve :')  
> also if u wanna talk to me abt this fic, markhei, or anything else, please please hmu on [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/6woojin) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/woo6in) bc it would mean the world to me <33


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